Mathematics

Mathematics provides liberal arts students with an introduction to the kinds of mathematical and quantitative thinking important in the contemporary world. As a technical and cultural field of study, our coursework ranges from introductory level math to applied math to statics and operations research.

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Faculty

Our faculty are both scholars and teachers who devote their careers to making important contributions to their disciplines through writing and research. They are committed to undergraduate education and teach everything from first-year seminars to advanced courses.

Department Overview

Mathematics is the study of structure and the way it can be applied to solve specific problems. The mathematics one sees in high school and the first year of college—techniques for solving equations, trigonometry, analytic geometry and calculus—represents only a small corner of the discipline.

Some of the structures discussed in more advanced courses include algebraic systems such as groups and vector spaces, geometric notions such as surfaces, manifolds and topological spaces, and spaces of differentiable or integrable functions. Such structures are used to construct mathematical models that may explain and predict events in a wide variety of disciplines.

Mathematics, a diverse field encompassing many subjects, has been with us since antiquity and is a pervasive force in our society. The major branches of mathematics—algebra, analysis, geometry, and logic in pure mathematics; applied analysis, combinatorics, probability and statistics, and operations research in applied mathematics—are well-represented among our faculty’s research interests.

While pursuing a PhD in neuroscience at Princeton University, Alexander Riordan ’15 is building mathematical and computational models of brain circuits, working to link cognition with its underlying biology.